Old Paper Still Gluts Market

WILLIAMSBURG — Eight months after refusing to accept any more newspaper, Williamsburg Recycling Center operators say business is down, but they still don't know when they can start taking paper again.

"We're not taking it yet," said Joan Swedenborg, co-owner of the center, which has limited its business to recycling glass, aluminum, cardboard and plastic since March.

Previously, the center had sold its newspapers to Hampton Roads Recycling Corp., a Hampton paper broker, which in turn sent the papers to the Atlanta-based Southeast Recycling Corp. But last spring, faced with a nationwide glut of newspaper, Southeast Recycling cut by more than half the amount of paper it buys from the Hampton broker.

At that time, Southeast Recycling's purchasing manager, George Elder, said he expected the paper market to pick up by this fall. However, now there is little confidence among industry observers that an upturn will occur before spring, let alone anytime this year.

"The problem is everyone wants to recycle, but nobody buys the product," said Bill Lacy, district manager for BFI Waste Systems, which collects as much as half of all commercial trash in the city. "If you don't have the market, recycling doesn't do you any good."

The glutted market has left Williamsburg's fledgling recycling program without a buyer for the paper it collects. Since Swedenborg stopped accepting newspaper, the city has sent its paper directly to the Hampton broker.

Dan Jordan, owner of the Hampton center, said he had been able to sell a portion of the city's paper to a buyer he declined to identify but must store the rest in a warehouse until the market picks up.

In the meantime, city officials have made no progress in their search for another paper buyer.

"It is very frustrating," said City Councilman Trist B. McConnell, who heads the city's recycling commission. "It's awfully hard to get people enthusiastic if they know the market is going to shrink. But we're going to have to balance supply and demand."

Industry officials say so many localities across the nation are flocking to recycling to take pressure off fast-filling landfills that prices for paper have plummeted. McConnell said the cost of operating landfills in Virginia is expected to double by 1992.

He said he did not expect the paper market to bounce back before next

spring.

George Elder of Southeast Recycling could not be reached for comment.

McConnell said the newly created Peninsula Service Authority, a regional group formed to coordinate waste disposal solutions among localities, is expected to help find new markets for the city's newspaper. Frank Miller, the authority's executive director, could not be reached for comment.

McConnell said the city's recycling program, now a year old, has not suffered from the market glut, although the city is not getting paid for any of the newspaper it collects. He said the program has cost the city about $24,000 so far.

Swedenborg said her recycling business remains healthy but has slackened slightly because some residents won't bring recyclable glass, aluminum and other materials to the center if they can't also dump newspapers there.